Alfalfa-mill.



E. F. ROSE.

ALFALFA MILL.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24. 1911.

Patented May 9,1916.

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k /I IhHHH l ll k l kfl THE COLUMBIA PLArgoaRAPH co., WASHINGTOMJL C E.F.ROSE. ALFALFA MILL, "APPLICATION FILED JULY 24,1911.

Patnted May 9,1916.

E. F. ROSE.

ALFALFA MILL.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24. 19:1.

Patented May 9,1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

nus COLUMBIAVPLANOORAPH E. F. ROSE.

ALFALFA MILL.

Patented May 9,1916. 7

4 SHEETSSHEET 4 EDWARD F. ROSE, OF FORT COLLIN S, COLOR-ADO.

ALFALFA-MILL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 24, 1911. $eria1 No. 640,349.

To all whom it may concern Be it knownthat I, EDWARD F. Host, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Collins, in the county of Larimer and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Alfalfa- Mills, of which the following is a specification. 2

to reduce alfalfa hay to meal of a degree of I fineness suitable for use as feed for animals.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide in an alfalfa mill means for automatically stopping the feeding conveyer when the hay is beingfed too rapidly'to the reducing mechanism. Another object isto provide a feed-stopping means which is adjustable so that it may be set to throw out the feed conveyer under conditions which are predetermined. v A further ob ect is to lmprove the construction of the reducing mechanism whereby the degree er fineness of the meal may description and particularly pointed out in I be easily regulated- I I Further objects and advantages ofithein vention will be set forth inthe following the claims. I p p p In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a fragmental vertical section through an alfalfa mill embodying the featuresof my invention. Fig. 2 is fragmental plan view of the machine. Fig. dis a section through the reducing mechanism, takenin the plane of line 3% of-Fig. 1. Fig. l is a view illustrating the automatic throw-out mechanism. Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional details of said throw-out means, taken in the planes of line 5+5 and 6 respectively of Fig. 4c. 1 I

The machine herein shown is of the same general type as the one disclosed in my Patent No. 991,893 issued May 9, 1911, to

which patent reference may be had for a of .operationat certain times.

In the drawing 11 indicates a suitable frame-work. r l y The reduclng mechanlsm may be generally similar to that shown my said patent,

said mechanism comprising a shaft 12 rotatably mounted in bearings 13 upon the frame-worln'said shaft having fixed thereon a series of cutting devices preferably in the form of disks or circular saws 14, said saws being spaced apart by washers 15. and being clamped upon the shaft to rotate therewith I c a a in any suitable way. At the ends of the gang This invention relates to a mlll adapted" of cutting devices, and positioned close to the end ones of said devices, are fixed heads 16 which may be mounted in the framefworl: in any suitable way as by means of ears 17 upon said heads and the bearings 131respectively, said ears being secured to gether by meansof bolts 18.

Patented May a, rare. i

Surrounding the gang of cutting devices andslidably fitting upon the heads 16 is a cylindricalshell 19 which is adapted to be reciprocated transversely of the cutting devices. Said shell may have guide ribs 20 at opposite ends thereof, which ribs are slidably mounted in suitable guides 21 preferably formed upon the bearings 13. One sideof the shell 19 hasanopening 22therein through which the alfalfa hayis fed. The lower half of the shell is perforated to per mit the meahwhen reduced by the saws 1a to sufiicientfiineness, to escape from the shell. In Fig. 3 only a portion of the per forations in the shell have been shown. In order that'the degree of fineness of the meal may be regulated atwillI preferably make the perforated section 19 of the shell removable from the remainder thereof so that screen sections having perforations of different sizes may be interchangeably mounted in the shell. The perforated section is in the present instance shorter than the shell so that the lower half of the permanent portion of the shell consists of two semi-circular'end portions 19 which fit about and slideuponthe stationary heads 16. The screen section 19" may be secured to the remainder of the shell in any suitable way as by'means of flanges 23 thereon and bolts 2i fit are preferably provided with a plurality of notches 19 so as to reduce'the amount of surfaceof said edges to be machined. Apit 24. is located below said shell into which the ground meal falls. The pit has slanting' walls 24", the upper portions 24 of which extend outwardly horizontally;

Plates 24 are carried at the opposite ends the meal therefrom and discharge it into:

said pit. V

The shell 19 is arranged to be reciprocated by suitable means herein shown as comprising a rotary shaft26 (Fig. 2) having an eccentric thereon and a strap 27 surrounding said eccentric, said strap being connected by means of a rod 28 with ears 29 upon the shell if desired. The shell 19 may have an opening 30 therein as shown, which is closed by means of a suitable closure 31, said opening permitting access to the interior of the shell. The shaft 26 is rotated from a transverse shaft 32 through the medium of suitable gears 33. The means for feeding material to the reducing mechanism through the opening 22 comprises an endless conveyer 34, the rear roller 35 of said conveyer being. positioned relatively close to the rotating saws 14. Forwardly of the roller 35 is supported a roller 36 upon which the conveyer is adapted to run. The upper run of the conveyer 34 may travel upon suitable guides 37 carried by side walls 38 on the frame-work.

A roll 39 mounted in suitable bearings 40 upon the sides of the frame-work 11 is arranged to coiiperate with the conveyer 34 to push the hay through the opening 22 in the shell 19 and against the gang of cutting devices. Forwardly of the roll 39 is a roll 41 of larger diameter, the loweredge of the last mentioned roll normally lying closer to the conveyer 34 than the first roll 39. The roll 41 is positioned directly above the conveyersupporting roller 36. The bearings 42 for the large roll 41 are verti- .cally slidable in guides 43 carried by the frame-work, said bearings being normally pressed downward by suitable springs 44. When the hay is being fed too rapidly to the reducing mechanism it tends to pileup at the rear end of the conveyor and the roll 41 rides up on the hay against the action of the springs 44. I have provided means operated by this rising movement of the roll 41 for automatically throwing the conveyer 34 out of operation. The rolls 39 and 41 are preferably driven from the shaft 45 of the rear conveyer roller 35 by any suitable means (not herein shown), so that when the conveyer stops said rolls will also stop. 9

The throw-out mechanism just referred to comprises, in the present instance, a lever 46 pivoted ,at 47 upon an arm 48 on a bracket 49, the rear end of said lever being bifurcated to form two arms 50. Said arms 50' lie at opposite sides of and are suitably connected with a clutch collar 51 slidable upon the shaft 45, said collar being arranged to connect said shaft with a driving sprocket 52, the latter beingdriven from the shaft 32 through a chain 53.

The lever 46 forward of the pivot 47 extends through a slot 54 in a tubular boss 55 formed upon the bracket 49. A spring 56 positioned within the boss 55 and bearing against the lever 46 tends normally to hold said lever in position to throw the clutch member 51 out of operative position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and thus stop the conveyer 34. The lever 46 is normally held in position to maintain the clutch meme ber 51 in engagement with the driving sprocket 52 by means of a hook 57 upon the forward angular end'58 of a lever 59, which lever is pivoted at 60 upon the bracket 49.

The lever 59 forward of its pivot is connected with one end of the shaft of the roll 41 through the medium of a link 61, so that when the feed roll 41 rises to a suflicient height the lever 59 will be swung to with-i threaded on the reduced end 64 is arranged to fiX the bolt to the lever 59 in any desired position along the slot 65. As will be seen, the position of the bolt in the'slot 65 will determine the point in the upward movement of the feed roll 41 at which the lever 59 will be swung to stop the feeding means. The slot 63 in the link 51 provides lost motion between said link and the lever 59 so that the feed roll 41 may rise a short distance without throwing out the feeding means.

In the operation of the machine, when hay is being fed too rapidly to the reducing mechanism, the roll 41 will rise as above explained, said roll carrying upward with it the link61, thus raising the end of the lever 59 and withdrawing the retaining hook57 from the lever 46, whereupon the spring 56 will swing the. lever 46 and thereby throw the clutch member 51 out of engagement to stop the conveyer. It may be desirable in practice to'sometimes run the mill at less than full capacity in order that it may be driven by a smaller engine than would otherwise, be required. It will be seen that the mill may be held to the desired capacity by adjusting the bolt 62 in the slot 65 so that the upward movement of the roll 41 will at any. desired point throw the feed mechanism out of operation.

Thus when the reducing means is using too much power, which would overload the driving means, the feed of the machine would be automatically out off. Once the feed means has been thrown out it will not start again, in the present embodiment, until'the lever 46 has been manually swung into clutching position and the hook 57 engaged therewith.

While I have herein disclosed in detail an exemplary embodiment of my invention, it should be understood that the said embodiment is susceptible of considerable modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention: i

1. In an alfalfa mill, the combination of a framework, an endless feeding conveyer mounted therein, a rotary roll mounted above said conveyer, bearings in which the journals of said roll are mounted, the bearings being vertically adjustable in said framework, a pair of clutch elements in the drive shaft of said conveyer, a horizontally swinginglever for moving one of said clutch elements into and out of engagement with the other, a spring engaging said lever and tending to move the latter in the direction to carry the clutch element out of engagement, a vertically swinging latch pivoted alongside of said lever and arranged to engage said lever to hold it in operative position with said clutch'element in engagement, said latch being withdrawable from said lever, and a direct link connection between said latch and one of said bearings, whereby when said rotary roll rises to a certain height said latch will be withdrawn to release said lever to the action of said spring and disengage said'clutch.

2.'In an alfalfa mill, feeding means comprising two devices between which the hay passes, one of said devices beingmovable by the hay away from the other device when the hay is being fed too rapidly, means including a clutch for driving said feeding means, a pivoted lever for operating said clutch, a spring tending to swing said lever to disengage said clutch and stop the feeding means, a latch for holding said lever in op erative position, saidlatch being withdrawable from said lever, and a link connected at one end to the movable device of said feeding means, the other end of said link being connected to disengage said latch when the movable feeding device moves away from the other feeding device a certain dis tance, whereby the said spring will swing said lever to disengage the clutch and stop the feeding devices.

3. In an alfalfa mill, means for feeding material comprising two feeding devices between which the hay passes, one of said devices bemg arranged to be moved by the hay away from the other when the hay is'being 7 fed too rapidly, means'including a disengageable connection for driving said feeding means, and means for operating said disengageable connection comprising a bracket mounted on said framework, a lever I pivoted on said bracket and arranged to operate said disengageable, connection, said bracket having a hollow boss thereon, the boss having registering openings in its sides through which openings said lever extends, a coiled spring lying within said boss and hearing at its ends against the end wall of of said device will trip said latch and permit said lever to swing into inoperative position.

4c. In an alfalfa mill, feeding means including a roll arranged to run in contact withthe hay, vertically yieldable bearingsv for said roll, means including a clutch for driving said feeding means, means tending to throw out said clutch, a withdrawable latch arranged to hold said throw-out means in position to hold said clutch in engagement, and a link connecting said latch with one of said bearings and arranged to withdraw said latch and permit said clutch to be thrown out when said bearings and roll are moved by the hay to a certain point, said link having an adjustable connection with said latch whereby the relative time at which the clutch will be thrown out may be regulated.

5. In an alfalfa mill, a framework, a roll mounted therein and arranged to ride up on the hay when the'hay is being fed too rapidly, a conveyer beneath said roll for feeding the hay, means including a clutch for driving said conveyer, means tending to throw out said clutch, a latch for holding the last-mentioned means in operative position, a link connectedlat one end. to said roll, the other end of said link having a slot therein, said latch having a slot therein, and a bolt passing through said slots for adjustably connecting said link and said latch together, whereby the latch will, be withdrawn when said roll has risen to any predetermined height.

In testimony whereof I hereby affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD F. ROSE.

Witnesses:

JAs'N. CLARK, DONALD P. MOSSMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for-five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. 0. a 

